This invention relates to educational games and, more particularly, to an educational card game for teaching children arithmetic.
Over the years, a variety of educational aids have been used to help teach children arithmetic, such as flash cards, instruction books, and a variety of mathematical games. Conventional flash cards, instruction books, and prior educational games have met with varying degrees of success.
While flash cards and instruction books can be useful with the assistance and in the presence of a teacher, teacher""s aid, or instructor, such flash cards and instruction books are not usually fun nor motivating to children with the result that children rarely use flash cards and instruction books to learn arithmetic without being required to do so by a school teacher, etc. Some prior educational games are interesting, but most are complex, difficult to use, uninteresting and/or not fun and, therefore, do not successfully accomplish teaching children arithmetic.
It is, therefore, desirable to provide an improved educational game which overcomes most, if not all, of the preceding problems.
An improved educational game is provided which is fun, interesting, and effective for children to learn arithmetic. Advantageously, the attractive educational game is easy to use, simply to manufacture, and economical.
The novel educational game can comprise a set of playing pieces such as tiles or preferably a deck of cards. Each set of playing pieces can have numerical indicia including a graphical representation of an Arabic numeral which corresponds to one number and a word which corresponds to another number. Desirably, each set of playing pieces also has an arithmetic symbol which represents an arithmetic operation. The arithmetic symbol can be: a plus (+), a minus (xe2x88x92) sign, a multiplication (xc3x97) sign, or a division (÷) sign. Preferably, the arithmetic symbol is positioned in proximity to the numerical indicia displayed on the playing pieces.
Each of the playing pieces can also have a equal (=) sign 101-110 which is positioned in proximity to the word in the numerical indicia. In the preferred form, the word comprises English letters and the graphical representation of the Arabic numeral(s) is larger in size than the letters of the word.
In order to make the educational game more interesting and easier to learn for young children, the numerical indicia of each playing piece can further comprise a graphical illustration of hand with one or more open fingers and closed fingers. Desirably, the number of open fingers in the graphical illustration of the hand corresponds to the numerical value and number represented by the word of the numerical indicia of the playing piece.
Advantageously, the user-friendly educational game helps motivate children to practice and study arithmetic by themselves without the assistance of a teacher. The attractive educational game can also be used by children for long periods of time while still being interesting and fun. If desired, the educational game can also be used as a computer game.
The improved educational game is especially useful for teaching children arithmetic. In the preferred form, each playing card has two numbers: a first number and a second number, which are added, subtracted, multiplied, or divided, depending on the arithmetic symbol and operation displayed on the playing card. Each card player (student or child) can be given a stack of cards. The first card player can put down a card, e.g. 4+3. The second card player can then place a card with the first number of his (her) card which equals the total, result, value or numerical quantity that is determined from calculation of the arithmetic operation displayed on the previous playing card, e.g. 7xe2x88x921. The next player can then place a card on the table in which the first number of his (her) card equals the total, result, value or numerical quantity that is determined by calculation of the arithmetic operation of the previous card on the table, e.g. 6+4, etc. The first person to discard and place all the cards from his (her) stack of cards on the table wins the game.
A wild card can also be used to represent any total, result, value or numerical quantity of the previous card on the table or alternatively, any total, result, value or numerical quantity that is selected by the player.
A more detailed explanation of the invention is provided in the following description and appended claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.